alacarte: the food blog

[alacarte]

Oh boy, it has become a full-blown blustery, snowy March day. Umbrellas are no help because the wind only blows them inside out or blows the snow sideways underneath the umbrella.

It's a good day for soup.

My dad has soup every day for lunch, and he has every day for as long as I can remember. Tomato soup. Chicken soup. Vegetable soup. With a sandwich, or with tuna salad, or with nothing at all. He even orders soup when we go out for lunch. Sometimes as a prelude to dinner too, but always as for lunch. In fact, I recall a recent family lunch at a diner out by my parents' house. True to form, my dad ordered soup, and the waitress said there wasn't any. My dad blinked.

"No soup for lunch?" he said. It was just inconceivable. He sounded so forlorn. No soup for lunch. And then the waitress proceeded to inform the rest of the table that at least part of our lunch orders would not be available...no mashed potatoes for Mr. alacarte...no baked potatoes for my mom...and no soup for my dad. It was a sad day indeed.

So today, I am eating miso soup for lunch, and I hereby dedicate it to my dad. I'm also having a "hot spicy roll" from the takeout sushi counter: tuna, salmon, tobiko, and cucumber. Not bad, though not as good as a proper sushi restaurant, of course.

By the way, there's a kosher sushi restaurant here in NY, called Haikara. They serve no shellfish, no eel or octopus. It's closed on Shabbat and only opens late on Saturday night -- apparently it's considered a classy spot for observant Jews trying to impress their dates. The restaurant is meat, not dairy, so they also have hot dishes like beef teriyaki and a passable duck.

[JennyUptown]

Caramel macchiatos are indeed GREAT. I like them because they are flavored with the sticky caramel from a squeeze bottle instead of one of the cleer liquid flavor shots.

[Toliver]

About iced mocha's -- it's worth seeing if you can convince your neighborhood espresso dealer to start making and stocking espresso ice cubes for you.  They're made of straight espresso with a bit of simple syrup added.  The beauty of these is that as the ice melts....  the drink retains its punch and flavor. I have an iced double strength latte every weekday mornign when the weather is warm - I don't mind paying the upcharge for the espresso cubes as it makes for so much better and longer lasting a drink.

A simple idea.

I barely make a dent in my coffee pot on the weekends, so I will pour the coffee that's leftover in the pot (before it gets too murky and thick) into two dedicated ice cube trays. I freeze them and use them to make my iced coffees. As you said, no more watered-down drinks and they're perfect for those warm summer days.

Alacarte, great blog so far!

I bought some Violet Chips in a Restoration Hardware store of all places. They were quite odd tasting to me. They're supposed to give you "sweet breath" so I guess it was worth the trade-off.

[alacarte]

Thanks, Toliver.

I know what you mean about the Violet chips -- it's a little like nibbling on soap, isn't it? But it grows on you.

Since it's still chilly and gray outside, I needed a little pick-me-up: chocolate. The specialty store on the corner sells imported chocolates, mostly from Germany for some reason. I picked out an import from Ireland -- "Irish Coffee Truffles." The company lists its URL on the package: Butlers Chocolates link.

Any day is a good day for chocolate.

[phaelon56]

no mashed potatoes for Mr. alacarte...no baked potatoes for my mom...and no soup for my dad. It was a sad day indeed.

I can relate. I was in Ireland last spring and when I noticed that the Baby Monkfish I ordered came with fries.... I requested fresh potatoes - boiled or mashed - whatever thay had available (in all but a handful of restaurant in Ireland, fries are frozen just as they are in the US). The waiter returned and informed me that they were OUT of potatoes.... in IRELAND!

it's a little like nibbling on soap, isn't it? But it grows on you.

It's obvious that you did not attend Catholic school....

[KatieLoeb]

I bought some Violet Chips in a Restoration Hardware store of all places. They were quite odd tasting to me. They're supposed to give you "sweet breath" so I guess it was worth the trade-off.

Gah! My mom used to love those square Violet breath candies. To me, it was like drinking cheap perfume. BLECH! It reminds me of that scene in Gone With the Wind where Scarlett is gargling with the cologne to get the brandy off her breath when Rhett stops by unexpectedly. The "Universal-Yuck-Face" (that look of utter disgust that is understandable in any culture and in any time period since the dawn of Man) that Scarlett makes while gargling is priceless.

Didn't fool Rhett either.

[slkinsey]

Of course, from what I gather, "Rhett" could have used some breath freshening himself.

[mags]

God I hate those violet candies! A customer at the bookstore was raving about them one night, and demanded that I try one. I obediently put it in my mouth, and then just waited, trying desperately to avoid having it come in contact with any actual taste buds, until he left the shop. At which point I spat the damn thing out immediately and ate some healthful, restorative chocolate.

[Suzanne F]

violet pastilles good (taste like flowers)

rose pastilles bad (taste like cold cream)

[bloviatrix]

So nu, what's for dinner?

[helenjp]

Well, I hereby raise my soup spoon in salute to your Dad! I love soup.

When I was a university student, my Dad came into the city for something, and dropped by with a bunch of garden flowers...and strict instructions not to turn them into soup!

[alacarte]

So nu, what's for dinner?

I'm falling down on the blog...

I had a really boring dinner, so I"ll tell you what I had and what I WISH I'd had:

What I had was a veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, and french fries. I was eating on the run -- working late to wrap up some loose ends, picking up my new business cards (my OWN business cards! They say my name, and then "food writer." They are BEAUTIFUL!), and then rushing home to pack for today's flight to the conference.

What I wish I had was roast chicken, that's really what I was craving. I have a great recipe that I've adjusted over the years: I take a whole cut-up Empire chicken and squeeze the juice of a lemon over the bird. Then I sprinkle it with paprika, garlic, and a little cinnamon (the cinnamon is the secret ingredient!). I cover the pan with tin foil and roast it in the oven at about 375 degrees for 30 minutes, then remove the tin foil, turn the pan, and cook for another hour. It comes out lovely and browned perfectly and smells divine. Sometimes I prop up the chicken over aromatic vegetables like onions or celery and that's a nice variation too. I think roast chicken with potatoes and steamed broccoli is my idea of a perfect, homey meal.

And thus, I conclude my blog. I know this is abbreviated, sorry folks. It's been a lot of fun.

But wait! I'm not leaving you blogless! Our own phaelon56 has agreed to be the next blogger. He's going to be reporting on what's up at the opening of his local greenmarket on Saturday....so phaelon, over to you!

(I'm going out to get an iced mocha now.)

[s'kat]

It was good while it lasted- enjoy your mocha!

[phaelon56]

Yes Alacarte... great blog and thanks for the roaste chicken recipe - I'll try that one soon. I'm looking forward to doing this and will try to begin getting stuff up and runnig on Saturday after my greenmarket visit.

[Rachel Perlow]

Look for this blender

Braun Power Max

It has a motor with much higher wattage output than just about anything on the market apart from the $300 - $400 Vita-Mix units. It also has a very heavy duty stainless steel blade that's ideal for chopping ice.  There may be a version available with a glass jar - mine is plastic but it does make it much easier to heft the thing for pouring when i'ts full.

<iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="120" height="240" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?o=1&l=as1&f=ifr&t=egulletcom-20&dev-t=D68HUNXKLHS4J&p=8&asins=B00004S9H3&IS2=1&lt1=_blank"><MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/egulletcom-20" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com"></iframe>

Please support eGullet by making your Amazon links, eGullet commissioned links. I have to go in through our account to get this kind of link, so regular members should still follow the instructions here.